


The Hero of Wolf Kingdom

by Captainwittyoneliner



Category: Agent Carter (TV), Captain America (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Bucky is a duke, But no, Darcy Lewis is a Fairy, Darcy just wanted Peggy to wish for a cute dress and to turn up at the royal party, F/M, Masked vigilante Peggy Carter, Peggy Carter is Cinderella, Peggy Carter is a soldier first and formost, Peggy Carter saves the day, Peggy is an orphan, Sam is an Earl, Steve is a king, all the places in this fic have shitty names, disclaimer: there are no actual wolves, fairytale AU, i don't know Steve and Peggy remind me of wolves, kind of, or a Witch, she had to ask for super strength instead, so they will be king and Queen of wolf kingdom, the Howling Commandos
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-13
Updated: 2015-04-16
Packaged: 2018-03-22 15:36:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3734185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Captainwittyoneliner/pseuds/Captainwittyoneliner
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A year after the Great War, small off-shoots of Hydra terrorist still attack the Wolf Kingdom, striking fear in the hearts of its people and making quite the headache for the good King Steven (one that isn't induced by Natasha's continued efforts to find the King a date). The Howling Commandos, an elite guard lead by Duke Barnes of the Winter Lands, are doing their best to clean up the mess and protect the kingdom. Hard as they try, though, they can't seem to shake some of the smaller rings of Hydra's many heads.<br/>Enter one masked-crusader Agent Peggy Carter who, with the help of her trusty fairy side-kick Darcy Lewis, will save the day.<br/>And go to a ball?<br/>And fall for the king?<br/>Wait a minute, that wasn't in the plan!<br/>Whoops.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Mysterious Agent

**Author's Note:**

> In honor of Hayley Atwell's ten-minute appearance in the new Disney's Cinderella, I decided to write a Cinderella AU for Peggy!  
> Then I realized that Peggy Carter would probably not put up with step-sisters or step-mothers or house work for more than, like, two seconds. She would, however, totally use her fairy god-parent's magic to fuck up tyrants and corrupt politicians or nobles.  
> And who better to provide sassy and ridiculous commentary for Peggy's adventures than Darcy Lewis!  
> *coughAngieMartinellicough*  
> *coughbutthisisn'tapeggy/angieficsoshe'snotherereallycough*

     “Sire, it’s another one.” A guard says urgently, entering the royal chamber with panting breathes.

      King Steven looked up at the guard, the plans of the new school he was hoping to build in the East Village—a replacement for one which had been destroyed in the Great War—forgoten for the moment. His visage was striking; a shock of blonde hair, fair skin, and deep blue eyes that sparkled in earnestness. His blonde brow was furrowed with confusion and concern. Then his broad shoulders slumped as he realized what the guard was referring too.

     “Who? From which sect?” He demanded, standing to his full and intimidating height. Beside him James “Bucky” Barnes, the Duke of the Winter Lands, stood as well. The man was, after all, Captain of his elite guard and border patrol, the Howling Commandos.

     “The note left on his body said that he’s the leader of a small off-shoot of AIM from near the Iron Kingdom border,” the guard replied, snapping a salute at both men.

     “Body? The man is dead?” Bucky asked, alarmed. They’d been receiving these little…gifts on the steps of the palace for a few months now. Leaders or major players of the small splinter cells left over from the war with Hydra and their tyrant king. They had no idea who kept doing it and despite their (Lady Natasha’s) best efforts, they couldn’t figure it out. No one ever saw the person who left it. The gifts just…appeared out of nowhere…but they were never deceased.

     “No, Your Grace, just unconscious. Forgive me, I should have specified,” the guard corrected, speaking to Bucky. Bucky looked to Steve for his orders.

     The King was no longer listening, though. Instead he had grabbed his coat and headed for the door, eager to question the captive about his kingdom’s new Vigilante. Duke Barnes knew that his good friend was worried about the one called merely ‘Agent’—their name signed as such on every not they left—and that without the proper back-up or resources they might find themselves dead.

     “We owe them much,” He’d told Bucky, “You said yourself that these were circles that you couldn’t pin down and eliminate because of their small size. This ‘Agent’ has been doing it for us, it seems.”

     “Steve, it’s incredibly dangerous,” Bucky had warned, “these groups are resourceful and smart; well-trained ex-soldiers and spies. This ‘Agent’ is going to get their-self killed!”

     “I know. Which is why we must find them and put a stop to this. Or at least give them a place on my guard,” Steve had smirked. With that he’d dispatched his personal body guard and informant, the great Lady Natasha Romanov from the fallen Red Kingdom, to find out as much as she could about Agent.

     Even with all her skills it wasn’t much.

     “All I could get was that Agent wore a military uniform—one of ours, stripped of any badges or medals and modified—and fought with quarterstaff and sword. They wore a mask and they were an incredibly skilled fighter. I lost their trail on the way back from the border,” she’d said, obviously annoyed that someone could slip her so easily.

     Despite asking around in villages and camps, Lady Natasha had been unable to find out any more than that the population loved this ‘Hero of Wolf Kingdom’. A soldier still fighting a war nearly a year passed.

     Bucky had smirked. _Weren’t they all still fighting?_ He’d thought. Certainly, his role as the Winter Soldier would not end until all of Hydra’s dregs had been pulled out by the root or razed to the ground. He flexed his metal arm now, remembering what Hydra had done to him when he’d been captured in the war. They’d even tried to brainwash him and send him back after his King, his best friend.

     ‘Tried’ being the keyword there. They’d failed, obviously, and Bucky had become a force for good, fighting beside King Steven and the Earl of Skys, Sam Wilson. Wilson had quickly earned the title ‘Falcon’ for his sharp eyes and habit of swooping down from atop buildings or trees to take enemies by surprise. He served with Bucky in the Howling Commandos as well, now.

     “Steve, you know this one probably has as much information on Agent as the last one, right? That is to say, nothing?” Bucky reminded Steve as they made their way through the palace halls briskly. Steve grimaced.

     “I know, I know but even small details help.”

     They reached the dungeons moments later. Steve put his shoulders back and reached for the door of the cell they’d been told was keeping the AIM agent.

     “Let’s see what AIM has to say about our Agent, shall we?” He asked with a fiercely protective look on his face. Bucky smirked, almost pitying the man on the other side of the door.

 

     Peggy Carter hadn’t meant to become a masked crusader of justice, but when the opportunity was offered to her, well, she couldn’t exactly say no, could she?

     Darcy is very fond of reminding her that she absolutely 100% could have wished for something else.

     Darcy is Peggy’s fairy god-person. Person, not parent because she’s actually younger than Peggy. God-sister? God-friend? Whatever else she was, she was also undeniably involved with Peggy Carter and her mad-cap schemes to take down what’s left of a terrorist organization all by herself despite already having served in the war.

     You see, Darcy makes good people happy by granting their wishes and protecting them from harm. _Usually_ the two goals don’t contradict. Usually. Enter one Margaret “Peggy” Carter whose wish, after returning from war, was to _go back to war_. Sort of.

     Peggy Carter wished for the strength, skill, and resources to fight Hydra terrorists in whatever form they may take and keep the people of her country safe. Darcy figured Peggy already had the ‘strength and skill’ part down so she provided resources. And, most importantly, she provided anonymity.

     She focused on accompanying Peggy on her raids, hiding in the shadows and providing back-up and medical assistance. Thankfully, the medical assistance was rarely needed as Carter was often too skilled to even touch. The back-up she provided was more along the lines of making Peggy Carter disappear when the mission was over and delivering the evidence and villains to the King so Peggy wouldn’t be seen.

     Today, they sat together outside at a small café just a little ways from the palace where Darcy had made their last drop, invisible to the naked eye. It seemed to be all the patrons were talking about, lately. They listened to the excited speculation about the new hero deemed ‘Agent’ while chowing down with the little money they had and enjoying the summer air.

     “I can’t believe your super-hero name is ‘Agent’,” Darcy said, shaking her head in disappointment, “I’m embarrassed to know you and no one even _knows_ I know you.”

     They could have this conversation in public because Darcy, magical motherfucker that she is, had cast a spell to make anyone overhearing them think they were talking about shoes. Or boys. Or whatever else they assumed young ladies sipping tea talked about. Definitely not being vigilantes, nope, not at all.

     Peggy sipped her tea and Darcy knew she was trying to hide her embarrassment.

     “It’s not my fault,” she mumbled.

     Darcy just looked at her.

     “Okay, it’s not _completely_ my fault,” Peggy amended, smiling at her friend.

     Darcy chuckled as she thought about why it was that they were calling Peggy ‘Agent’. After Peggy had single-handedly (!) stopped a raid of one of the outer villages by Hydra operatives (Darcy waiting in the wings, of course), one of the villagers had asked Peggy who it was that they’d had to thank for their newfound peace. Peggy, ever the good soldier, started to introduce herself as Agent Peggy Carter, as she had been during the war. She was able to stop herself before she said her name but the damage had been done. Word got around and the new hero was dubbed simply ‘Agent’ to all that knew of her and her fight for justice.

     Peggy liked to think it was the soldier in her that called for justice but Darcy knows that her heart calls for justice because she’s a decent human being. She’s just a _good person._

     A ridiculously brave and _reckless_ , good person.

     Peggy stood, setting her cup down and dabbing at the corner of her red lips as she looked to the horizon at the setting sun. The information they got from the AIM agent they’d just turned over had led them to a refugee camp near the border of the kingdom of Hydra. Rumor had it that another off-shoot, this time of the Ten Rings, was scrambling out of the dark forest and raiding the poor people who had fled the Tyrant King’s cruelty during the war.

     “Well,” she gave Darcy a coy smirk and put out her hand, her chestnut ringlets shining in the afternoon light, “shall we go? We’ll have to leave now if we want to reach the border.”

     Darcy groaned out loud, giving Peggy a hard time though she took the hand offered to her with a proud smile.


	2. Friendly Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darcy and Peggy go to investigate the Ten Rings' raiders.

     From a hill above the camp, just two hours before midnight, Darcy and Peggy sat and observed the forest’s edge using a telescope that Darcy had enchanted to allow Peggy to see in the dark. The night air was warm around them but the camp had set up a good many fires throughout, regardless. A few men, all elderly as the others had been enlisted in the Tyrant King’s army, patrolled the camp’s outskirts with torches and not much else. Peggy clicked her tongue in disapproval.

     “They’re horribly under provisioned and undermanned. It’s a miracle they’ve lasted this long,” she hisses angrily, “Where are the king’s men? Where are the patrols from the nearby villages?”

     Darcy frowned. They’d actually banked on having actual facts back-up from local guards on this one. If there were more raiders than even Peggy could handle, she’d actually be putting the refugees in _more_ danger than they already were. She wouldn’t be able to deliver the help they so desperately needed. Darcy squinted at the camp, observing the people. Her gaze landed on a mother and her child and Darcy’s frown deepened. They both looked horribly underfed. And terrified. But not of the forest?

     “Peggy, I don’t think these people have been getting _any_ help from the local guards. In fact, I think the local guards might be harassing them…” Darcy said as she pointed Peggy’s telescope towards the starving pair.

     Peggy growled, now noticing what she hadn’t before in her search for Ten Rings’ raiders. On the king’s orders, provisions should have been going to the refugees, distributed by militia members from the local town where they were delivered. These people looked far worse than someone would if they were receiving food and medicine from the government regularly. In addition, horse tracks led to the camp from the village but no cart tracks, suggesting that someone had been there but not to bring aide.

     These people weren’t being raided by the Ten Rings, they were being raided by _Wolf Kingdom soldiers_ …

     Disgust hit Peggy hard and she bristled. How could these men dishonor their King and country in such a manner? Preying on the weak and the innocent was no way to act as a soldier of the Wolf army. How could the King _allow_ this? Did he know? More importantly, would he _care_? Well, she would find out when she gave him what for.

     Peggy’s thoughts of the King were interrupted when she saw a young woman with dirty blonde hair move away from the camp and towards the village road. Peggy’s brow furrowed in confusion until she saw a few lights in the distance approaching rapidly. _Soldiers_ , she thought.

     “Shit,” Darcy whispered, probably thinking the same, “what is she doing? She can’t possibly think she’s gonna fight trained soldiers, does she?”

     Yet even as they watched the lights approached, revealing seven soldiers in Wolf kingdom uniforms and confirming their suspicions. Peggy felt dirty in her own uniform just watching.

     The dirty blonde put her hands on her hips. Chin jutting out defiantly and ratty dress swirling around her calves, she told the soldiers something harshly that made them laugh. She pointed at the leader and said something else and the laughing stopped.

      _Oh no_ , Peggy thought jumping to her feet. She started to move but Darcy’s hand grabbed her wrist.

     “Peggy, what are you doing?!” She hissed.

     “I won’t sit here and do nothing while they terrorize innocents in the same uniform I wear proudly now!” Peggy told her urgently. Darcy sighed and rolled her eyes.

     “No, I didn’t think you would. I’m not asking you to. But there has to be a better way to do this! Those are the King’s men!”

     A scream from down below drew their attention and they watched in horror as the leader, who had dismounted during their conversation, used his sword to tear open the woman’s bodice. Darcy’s face grew stormy with rage.

     “Okay,” she said, releasing Peggy’s arm, “have at ‘em.”

     Peggy didn’t need to be told twice.

     She ran full tilt down the hill. She didn’t even slow down when she reached the bottom, just kept running until she was close enough to the soldiers’ leader to leap into the air and—using the full force of her momentum—kick the man in the head so hard he went flying fifteen feet and didn’t get up again.

     She didn’t much care if she’d killed him.

     Landing in a graceful crouch, Peggy straightened and removed her quarterstaff from across her back. She faced the remaining soldiers, too stunned by her appearance to make a move, and smiled a terrifying grin.

     They charged.

     She spun the quarterstaff and knocked the first’s sword out of his hand before using it to sweep his feet out from under him. While the first was down she blocked a blow by the second and flipped up, catching the quarterstaff horizontally under his chin and flipping him into the third as she landed. The fourth she fought until he was down before the first even got back up.

     Peggy fought until she’d taken down all six men in under three minutes before turning her attention back to the girl. It seems she’d attracted a crowd as well. Various people from the camp stood around silently and gaped at Peggy in her uniform and mask.

     “Holy moly.”

     Peggy started as she realized the girl who had been attacked was standing right next to her, looking down at the crumpled forms of one of the guards.

     “Did you kill him? I mean, not that I’m complaining, but you guys are wearing the same uniform,” the girl said, now looking Peggy up and down. Peggy opened her mouth to answer but then snapped it shut, eyeing the silent crowd of refugees standing not ten feet away. Darcy made her way through it and started shooing them off.

     “Alright, people, nothing to see here. Move along, nothing to see.”

     They grumbled and made their way off even though there was _most certainly_ something to see.

     When they were gone Darcy turned to her, surveying the mess of soldiers around the three of them.

     “No, I don’t think I killed them,” Peggy said, turning her attention back to the girl who was trying to hold the two pieces of her bodice together.

     “Oh, dear. Here, let me.” Peggy removed her uniform coat and draped it around the young woman’s shoulders.

     “Thanks,” she murmured, “the name’s Angie, by the way.”

     Angie pulled the sides of the coat a little tighter as she slipped her arms into the sleeves and proceeded to button it up. The buttons gleamed in the moonlight, meticulously polished by Peggy and her habits from her army days.

     And then Peggy realized that she was indeed wearing the same uniform. Something that had only registered before as a focus of righteous anger and disdain but now registered as dread as well. She’d just taken down seven men who were supposedly on the same side as she and definitely _not_ Ten Rings’ raiders.

     “Oh, no,” she whispered.

     “What are we going to do with all these unconscious dudes?” Darcy asked. “Because I don’t think it will go over as well if I drop seven of the King’s soldiers on his front step.”

     Angie’s eyes grew wide with surprise and her face split into a grin.

     “Oh, my god, you’re Agent! Holy moly I was just saved by the Hero of Wolf Kingdom!”

     Darcy scoffed, kicking at one of the unconscious soldier’s boots, “Yeah, well she’s not going to be the ‘hero’ for much longer once this gets out.”

     “What? But she saved me. She saved the camp.” Angie frowned.

     “Not in the way these soldiers are going to tell it. No doubt they’ll probably say they were attacked unprovoked by the Agent and who’s going to challenge that? Agent? She can’t reveal herself like that.”

     “I’ll challenge it,” Angie said angrily, “I’ll tell the truth!”

     “Yeah? And whose going to believe you?” Darcy challenged back in the same tone, “Certainly, the local authority won’t take the word of a refugee over the word of seven soldiers in the King’s army!”

     “Then we’ll take our grievances to the King directly.”

     Both women stopped yelling at each other and turned to stare in disbelief at Peggy who had finally spoken up. Darcy’s mouth opened and closed a few times before she finally said,

     “And how the hell do you propose we do that?!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That move where Peggy flips the one dude into the other was inspired by the AOU trailer where Steve flips his fucking motorcycle into a jeep. "I slipped" my ass...


	3. Sweet Digs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Discussions are had.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know where I'm going with this.   
> Angie is totally a foodie I will fight you.  
> Also, I stole Bucky and Steve's heart-wrenching goodbye from CA:TFA and gave it to Peggy and Darcy, minus the heart-wrenching.

     The next morning found Steve sparring with Bucky in one of the many fencing halls in the palace while Sam looked on. He let his frustration pour into every swing of the sword, every thrust and parry. Despite heavy interrogation, the AIM agent hadn’t been able to give them any information on his Agent. Steve didn’t even bother to pretend he wasn’t possessive or protective over his Agent anymore. Six months of receiving ‘gifts’ from them had made the stranger his. His to worry about, his to find, his to protect (he didn’t care what Natasha said about his use of possessive pronouns). And he _would_ find them; he was determined.

     Though his frustration made his blows fierce, it also shot his concentration, and before he knew it, Sam was calling ‘point’ as a stunned Steve Rogers stood with Bucky’s sword point against his chest. He pulled his fencing mask off with a frown and Bucky followed.

     “Stevie, you alright?” Bucky asked with a raised brow, “You seem…intense.”

     “You mean more than usual?” Sam shot off from his spot by the wall, pulling his own fencing gloves on to prepare for his round with Bucky. They had the standing tradition that the winner fought the one who’d had to sit out.

     Bucky laughed and Steve gave Sam an unimpressed look before huffing out a breath and moving to lean against the wall as Sam and Bucky set up to spar. He clicked his teeth in irritation and shook his head.

     “It’s just—how? How does this person keep slipping away like this? Everyone we interrogate has the same story! Agent swoops in, takes them out, questions them, and then they wake up on the palace steps or in a cell. And another thing! Why does Agent never take these people to the local authorities? They always end up at the palace. What are they playing at? And how come the perpetrators never remember the sound of Agent’s voice or what they looked like? Height, body type, gender, not even ethnicity?”

     “Well, at least you know _what_ Agent is questioning them about,” Bucky says with a smirk. He pulls his mask over his head and gets in position.

     Even though the AIM agent didn’t know anything about Steve’s vigilante, he did remember what the interrogation was about. Apparently, Agent was following a lead on some Ten Rings’ Bandits that were getting hard to track down. He’d given Steve the same answer he’d given Agent; that the bandits were supposedly operating out of the forest on the Hydra border. That information didn’t make sense to Steve because all his informants had told him the same thing—Ten Rings usually operated in the Iron Kingdom, rarely in the Wolf Kingdom. Not even at the border with Hydra. He supposes it was possible but the probability was low. Very low.

     Which is why he’d dispatched Natasha to investigate as discreetly as possible.

     Steve watched Sam and Bucky spar as his frustration simmered under the surface, thoughts of Agent distracting him from actually paying attention. He wondered if Natasha had found anything, having been sent out last night. She _did_ have a lot of border to cover, though, and for his part, Steve was unsure whether or not Agent had even acted on the information they’d received. After all, there’d been no bodies at his front door yet.

     “Steve, you’re supposed to be calling this,” Sam reminds him and Steve’s head snaps up with a sheepish expression. Sam has his blade pointed at Bucky’s chest and they’ve both got their masks off, breathing heavy from the exertion.

     “Um, point?” He says, rubbing the back of his neck and Sam shakes his head.

     “I’m not counting it because it wasn’t witnessed,” Bucky complains, crossing his arms and turning his chin up childishly.

     “What? I just said point!”

     “But did you _see_ it happen, Stevie?”

     Steve blushed in an obvious answer.

     “C’mon, man! You’re messing up my game,” Sam adds in mock outrage, earning a laugh from Bucky and a small smile from Steve. Steve’s about to reply when the door to the fencing hall bursts open to reveal Natasha looking urgently around the room at them. All three men stand at attention, eyes trained on Natasha and fencing forgotten. They wait silently for her to speak.

     “There’s been a development.”

     

     “You want to do _what_ now?!”

     Peggy sighs at Darcy’s outburst, leaning back in one of their two chairs in their kitchen/living room. Angie occupied the other as Darcy paced in front of them. The small cottage on the outskirts of the main city of Brook was old and held together by sheer force of will but it was home.

     Peggy had bought the small, two-bedroom cottage when she’d come of age. Having lived all her life in an orphanage, sharing space with strangers, she was glad to have someplace to finally call her own. Well, hers and Darcy’s. The two lived off what they could sell from their garden (upkeep courtesy of Darcy’s magic) and what was left of Peggy’s soldier’s pension. All together it wasn’t much but it was enough for them.

     “I want to sneak into the palace with Angie and confront the King in his chambers.”

     Darcy stared at her in disbelief before bursting out laughing.

     “Let me give you three reasons that’s not going to happen, even _with_ my magic.” Darcy sneers and starts ticking off points on her fingers, “The Falcon, The Black Widow, and The _fucking Winter Soldier!_ Do you know how protective they are of their king? They probably sleep _in the room_ with him! There’s no way you’re going to be able to sneak in there, wake the king up, and explain the situation without _dying first_!”

     “Then what do you suggest I do, Darcy? Write him a damn letter?” Peggy yells back, leaping to her feet in frustration. Everything she’s suggested, Darcy has shot down.

     “Could you lure him out of the palace,” Angie suggests, trying to be a voice of calm for them both. Darcy shakes her head at that too.

     “Even if we could, he’ll undoubtedly bring along the Black Widow—since she is his personal guard. Hell, the Soldier will probably follow too. He’s been known to leave his company to Sam in order to provide Lady Natasha with back-up.”

     Peggy growled in frustration. There really was no way to do this was there?

     “Look, I’m going to go into to town. See if the word has got out about last night yet and how people are taking it—the King in particular,” Darcy sighs, moving to the door and taking her enchanted cloak down from a peg next to it. She opens the door and looks back at the two women with a tired smile, “Don’t do anything stupid until I get back, okay?”

     “How could we? You’re taking all the stupid with you,” Peggy smirks and Darcy laughs before heading off, closing the door firmly behind her. Now it’s Peggy’s turn to sigh. She collapses back into the chair and rests her head in her hands, elbows propped up on her knees.

     “So,” Angie says from the chair beside her, drawing out the syllable. Before Peggy can answer that, Angie’s stomach rumbles so loud she’s sure Darcy could hear it from the road outside.

     “I take it you’re hungry again,” Peggy laughs and stands to move towards the pantry and small stove in the ‘kitchen’ half of the room.

     If there was one thing they’d learned about Angie, it was that she like food. A lot. And she was hungry often despite breakfast having been only an hour and a half ago. Peggy thinks it’s probably because she’s gotten so little food lately.

     At the reminder of what those soldiers had done, Peggy frowns, troubled and standing dazed in the middle of the kitchen until Angie’s gentle touch on her hand makes her jump.

     “Hey,” she says gently, “why don’t you go for a walk; take some time to think, hm? I can make my own snack.”

     Peggy would very much like to go for a walk but she hesitates, unsure about leaving Angie alone despite her trust in the girl. Angie must see the hesitation in her face because she reassures her.

     “Don’t worry. I won’t be leaving any time soon, I don’t think,” she tells Peggy with a grin.

     Peggy grins back and leaves Angie to it, wandering off into the woods with no real direction in mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise that the promised couples are going to meet next chapter. Cross my heart.


	4. Meet and Greet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw rocks. And those in large crowds shouldn't kick stones.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man, there is soooo much blushing in this chapter. So much.

     The look on Steve’s face when Natasha told them the news was somewhere between shocked disbelief and betrayal.

     “You’re sure?” Bucky asked her, watching Steve try to process the new information. “You’re sure it was Agent?”

     “That’s what they said but…” Natasha crossed her arms and gave him a meaningful look, “No one else came forward with any other story.”

     The story, as it was, was that Natasha was intercepted on her way north by a contingent of guards heading for the city to file a report. When they noticed who was coming towards them on the highway, the captain had flagged her down and told her about the situation. Seven guards were attacked just outside their village—unprovoked, no less—while on patrol duty. When she’d asked who’d done the deed the captain had told her that it was none other than the Hero of Wolf Kingdom. Shocked, Natasha had demanded to speak to the victims of the crime. They’d all told her the same story even being separated and questioned intensely. However, when she asked any villagers, they told her that the soldiers in question had been nowhere near the village that night, nor had they been on patrol though the roster said they had. No one had seen Agent; no one had seen anything at all.

     So now it was the soldiers’ word against Agent’s and, well, obviously they wouldn’t be getting any words from the anonymous vigilante.

     “I decided to bring the seven victims back with me—here, to the city. They’re at the local guard station and under strict orders to stay put and keep their mouths shut,” Natasha told them.

     “So, everyone in town knows that Agent attacked the King’s own men, then,” Bucky sighed.

     “Pretty much.”

     “This just doesn’t seem like something Agent would do,” Steve said finally, lifting his head to look at Natasha, brow furrowed still. Natasha gave him a sympathetic look.

     “Your Majesty, we don’t even _know_ Agent. We know nothing about Agent. We can’t really say _what_ Agent would or wouldn’t do, not with certainty.”

     Bucky nodded with agreement but turned to Steve and put a hand on his shoulder, squeezing once, “Look, pal, I’m gonna go back into town with Natasha and see if I can’t find a crack in this story if they did actually make it up. You should get out of the palace for a bit, go for a walk to that meadow we used to play in, yeah? I won’t even force you to take a guard.”

     Steve sighed but nodded, mirroring Bucky’s gesture and squeezing back before giving Sam orders to take the Howling Commandos north to patrol there. Then he headed out himself. Bucky watched him and Sam go their respective ways before turning back to Natasha with a cold look in his eyes. Her eyes mirrored his.

     “Lead the way,” he said.

 

     When Steve arrived at his meadow, dressed in simple clothing so as not to be recognized, he found it already occupied.

     Sitting in the tall grass, leaning against a willow and face tilted towards the sun’s rays, was the most beautiful human being that Steve had ever possibly seen. Her hair was a lustrous chestnut, curling gracefully just over her shoulders. Long, dark lashes rested peacefully on high cheekbones. The thin slope of her nose turned up just the slightest bit at the end and below that, red lips, plump and curving into a small, content smile. Steve had the greatest urge to draw her, to put her likeness to paper so that he wouldn’t forget the way her skin shone in the sun or how her brown eyes sparkled with—

     Steve blushed as he realized that she’d woken up to see him staring at her intently. She frowned at him, her brow furrowing with suspicion.

     “E-excuse me, I’m so sorry,” Steve stammered backing up from the intensity of her narrowed eyes, palms up, “I was just—I’m sorry I didn’t know—I’ll go, sorry.”

     During his babbling the woman’s look had gone from suspicion to bewilderment and finally amusement. She chuckled warmly as he started to retreat and Steve froze at the soft sound.

     “No need for that,” she said with a smile, spreading her arms out to encompass the meadow, “There’s plenty of meadow here for the both of us.”

     Steve was so entranced by her voice that he forgot to pay attention to her words.

     “Huh?”

     “Or, I can leave if you were hoping to sketch an uninterrupted view of the meadow,” she said, gesturing to the sketch pad in his left palm still outraised. She moved to get up when he didn’t answer and Steve panicked.

     “No, don’t!” He said waving his outstretched palms in an abortive motion. She looked at him shocked and he blushed crimson. “Um—that is-is your fine—good! You’re good! Um, sorry. I, uh, wasn’t going to paint the meadow, I mean, because why paint that when your far more beautiful? It’d be a waste of canvas—not you! The meadow! Would be…a waste…I’m not even painting…wow.”

     Steve’s face could not possibly get any redder and he looked at the ground abashed having realized that he’d just called a stranger he just met more beautiful than this meadow and also possibly propositioned her to let him paint her?

     When Steve found the courage to look back at her, he was surprised to see that she was also blushing, not a trace of judgment on her face.

     “Would you like me to stay, then?” She asked hesitantly.

     “Yes!” Steve choked immediately and then blushed again when he realized what he’d said, “I mean, if you want…”

     She just smiled at him kindly and took back her spot under the willow, “I think it would be pleasant, thank you.”

     He sat down not far from her and stared. When she met his gaze he startled and rubbed the back of his neck, looking for a topic of conversation.

     “So, do you, uh, come here often?” He froze and closed his eyes, not believing what was coming out of his mouth right now. He used to give speeches before battles, dammit, what was he doing?

     The woman threw her head back and laughed before answering and Steve dazedly thinks he could dance to the sound of it.

      “Not particularly, no. I’m Peggy, by the way,” she says, offering her hand to shake.

     “A pleasure to meet you, Peggy,” he takes her hand but instead of shaking it something, and god only knows what, but _something_ compels him to brush his lips over the back of her bare knuckles, rough from use. She blushes again and he smiles happily.

     “I’m Steve.”

     Steve doesn’t get the chance to draw her that evening, but by the time they’ve stopped talking and headed their separate ways, Steve has a date set for the same time tomorrow. He walks home in the dark, grinning like a fool.

 

     Darcy doesn’t even make it all the way into the city square before she starts hearing the rumors. Unsurprisingly, none of them are true and none of them are good.

     “Well, _I_ heard that Agent rode out of the forest at the head of a group of _raiders_!” Darcy overhears from two women as she peruses fruit in the market, “They say that those poor soldiers were the _only ones_ to stand up to the villain when he came riding into the town!”

     The other woman gasps, making some noise about ‘poor darlings’ and ‘I always knew that vigilante was trouble’ and blah, blah, blah. Darcy sighs, moving away from the fruit and kicking at the cobblestones beneath her feet dejectedly. She thinks about Peggy and how much good she’s done this kingdom, the hours of service she’s given both in and out of the army, and she gets angry.

     “ _Ugh_!” She growls and kicks a stone particularly hard, gasping as it sails through the air to hit some poor man on the back of the head.

     “Ow!” The man stumbles and whirls around looking for the perpetrator, eyes locking onto Darcy like he’s got some kind of sixth sense.

     “Oh! Oh my god! I’m so, so sorry,” she says as she moves towards him. Without thinking she reaches up and puts her hand over his where it’s holding the back of his head.

     “Does it hurt too terribly bad? God, I’m sorry that was stupid of me.” She knocks his hand out of the way (which is strangely hard) and prods at the back of his head to assess the damage before she notices that he’s staring at her in shock. She freezes, realizing she’s got her hand buried in some stranger’s hair, her face only inches from his. His very, _very_ handsome face.

     She blushes hard.

     “Um. Whoops?” She pulls her hand back, “my bad.”

     He still seems to be in shock, not answering her at all, just staring.

     “Um,” her eyes dart around looking for a way to politely leave, “I’m just—I’m just gonna—“

     She turns to go but before she can move too far he grabs her wrist to keep her there. She looks back at him, startled.

     “No, it’s fine, it’s—it’s fine. Um,” he looks down and seems surprised to see that he’s holding her hand. He drops it like it’s on fire, “Sorry! That’s, uh, no harm done. Don’t worry about it…”

     “…Oh. Okay.”

     They stand there in awkward silence, her staring at him and him trying to look anywhere else but at her. They’re both blushing severely. When he does finally look at her, he clears his throat and introduces himself.

     “I’m, uh, James,” he says. He doesn’t offer a hand. She’s still staring at his ridiculously handsome face and startles when she realizes that he expects her to answer.

     “Darcy.”

     More awkward silence ensues except this time, he’s staring back at her with a weird intensity, his gray eyes wide. Darcy shifts uncomfortably and blushes again.

     “What,” she asks defensively and he shakes his head.

     “Nothing, it’s just. You have the bluest eyes I have ever seen.”

     Darcy frowns.  _Wow, does he even know what he’s saying?_ Darcy thinks. _My disguise doesn’t even have blue—_

     Darcy’s eyes widen comically when she realizes that he can _see_ her. He can see _past the enchanted cloak_ that makes her look like an old lady!

    _Crap,_ she thinks.

     “Barnes!” someone calls suddenly and they both jump about a foot in the air. Darcy makes her escape when he turns to find the source, still blushing and heart pounding with the knowledge that James could see past her magic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, man. Steve and Bucky are so bad at first impressions, I'm embarrassed for them.

**Author's Note:**

> I promise the relationships are coming. Peggy has to save the day first before Steve's ridiculous man-boobs destroy her concentration. Again.  
> Please message me with any errors you find. This is unbeta'd because I'm a lazy fucker.


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